Schools
Girls Hockey: Thunderbirds Fight Off Sluggish Start and Tame Lions
Cranston-Co Op defeats Lincoln 3-2.
The Cranston Co-Operative Thunderbolts faced a 2-0 deficit but that didn't stop them from rallying to victory in a girls hockey game against the Lincoln Lions at Cranston Ice Rink Saturday night.
Cranston's team consists of players from Cranston West and Cranston East. The Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but were unable to sustain it. Cranston came away with the 3-2 victory, scoring two third period goals.
In the first period, the Lions took advantage of Cranston's sloppy play. Lincoln applied heavy pressure and controlled the action.
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With just under four minutes left in the period, the Thunderbirds turned it over right in front of their own net. Lions captain Jean Bray flipped it into the net for an easy goal.
Bray made a sensational move with less than five seconds remaining in the first period. She skated past a defender on the right wing, cutting towards the goal and fired the shot into the back of the net, increasing the lead to 2-0.
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"It was not a great start, we really struggled in the first period," Ashley Pagliarini, Cranston's head coach, said.
In the second period Cranston skated with more fire and intensity. They created multiple scoring chances, but were unable to capitalize on them.
Senior Olivia DeSpirito found the back of the net with only 47 seconds left in the second, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
The Thunderbirds came out flying at the beginning of the third period. They quickly erased Lincoln's slim lead. Freshman Taylor Koretsky fired home a backhanded shot, tying the game only 40 seconds into the final period.
"We talked about [in the locker room] trying to get a goal on the first shift of the third period to build some momentum," Pagliarini said.
Cranston continued their push and nearly took the lead a minute later. In the end, a special teams goal would prove to be the difference in the game.
With just over four minutes left, Thunderbirds senior Steph Casale blasted a shot from the blue line, providing the game-winning goal on the power play.
"That was a good goal and she has a great shot from the point," Pagliarini said.
Cranston showed some grit and heart in Saturday night's contest. They slowly chipped away at their deficit, and eventually won the game 3-2, bouncing back from a 7-1 loss to LaSalle on Friday night.
